


Heir Apparent

by pocket_pict



Category: CyberSix
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocket_pict/pseuds/pocket_pict
Summary: A quick look into what life might have been like if my first story, My Only Crime, had ended differently.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Heir Apparent

Josef was just finishing breakfast when he heard his father say something he had been longing to hear.

“We’re checking the traps this morning and I’m taking the boy,” stated Papa as he worked on his cup of coffee.

Josef felt his heart leap in his chest. Finally, he had been deemed big enough to help! Finally, Papa wanted to include _him!_

There was just one obstacle standing in his way. The boy turned his head and looked at his mother expectantly. She continued helping the baby with his breakfast, but now there was a look of concern on her face as she did it.

“How far in are you going? Isn’t he still a little young for that?” she asked warily.

_I’m not too little!_ Josef thought in frustration. _I’m seven and two whole months!_

Papa put down his cup and gave Mutti one of his patented looks. “For God’s sake, Liebchen, we’re going into the forest, not to the moon. You’re going to have to let him out of your sight sooner or later. It’s time he started learning these things, anyway.”

Josef couldn’t contain himself anymore. “Please, Mutti?” he begged. His baby brother watched him intently with a pair of big blue eyes, always fascinated by everything Josef did or said.

Mutti looked at him for a moment before finally letting out a defeated sigh. “All right, Spatzi. Finish your tea and get ready. Then go wait on the porch for your father and uncle.”

Josef emptied his cup in three swallows before shooting out of his chair and running for the door.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth,” Mutti called out after him. He groaned, changed course and rushed to the bathroom, when he ran his toothbrush half-heartedly around his mouth a few times before heading back to the door. There was no time to use toothpaste. He had an important job to do.

Waiting on the porch, time seemed to drag on forever. Josef perked up when Papa and Uncle Krumens came outside, but he knew they still had to get a few things ready before leaving, so he didn’t follow them. After all, what they needed might be inside The Lab, and he wasn’t allowed to go in there, ever. The closest he had ever gotten was pounding on the metal door to get Papa to come out when Mutti was having the baby, and even then, he had been too scared to try to steal a look inside. He could only imagine the secrets it held.

The screen door opened again, and Josef heard his brother’s soft footsteps paddling across the porch. He looked up to see Helmut cheerfully offering him one of his socks.

“Thanks,” said Josef, taking the offering and tousling his brother’s blond hair. It was soft like corn silk and he liked how it felt between his fingers. Then he realized the sock in his hand meant Helmut was barefoot.

“Uh oh, you’re outside without your shoes again...”

As if on cue, Mutti appeared in the doorway holding a tiny pair of shoes and the sock’s companion.

“I knew it,” she muttered.

Josef showed her his gift. “He gave me his sock,” he giggled.

“He was hoping to get rid of the evidence,” said Mutti. She crossed the porch, kneeled down beside Helmut and held up his shoes. “Well Hasi, are we going to do this again today?”

The baby answered by flopping over dramatically. He began to protest loudly, kicking his legs as Mutti wrestled his feet into his shoes.

Josef handed her the sock and watched idly. What Mutti called the Great Shoe Battle of ’52 had been raging for a while now. The boys were required to wear shoes outside to protect them from insect bites and stings, but Helmut had decided he was having none of it and he had a stubborn streak a mile wide. It made him act like a pain sometimes, but for the most part Josef was still glad to have him around. He couldn’t wait until Helmut was older and they could really play together. After all, there were no other children out here.

Mutti left Helmut to sort himself out and took a seat on the top step next to Josef. They looked at each other with matching green eyes and smiled.

“I’m sure they’re almost ready,” Mutti told him. Her expression became serious. “Josef, I want you to promise me you’ll be very careful out there.”

He sat up a little. She usually called him Spatzi, not Josef. His real name was reserved for the rare times he got in trouble, or for discussing dangerous situations. But it was like Papa had said: they were going into the forest, not to the moon. And two of the three grownups would be there. What was so dangerous?

He kept his thoughts to himself. “I promise.”

“And promise me you’ll...you’ll do what your father tells you, all right?”

“I will, Mutti.”

She smiled again and reached out to hold his face gently. Mutti’s hands were strong and calloused from the hard work she was always doing around the compound. But to Josef they only ever felt warm and safe.

“I love you, Spatzi,” she told him, kissing him on the forehead.

“I love you too, Mutti,” he echoed, still a bit bewildered about why she was taking things so seriously. Maybe she was just sad that he was a big boy now.

Helmut got to his feet, sniffling, and crawled into Mutti’s lap as Papa and Uncle Krumens came around the side of the house. Josef saw the wire cage his uncle was pulling behind him and wondered how many monkeys could fit inside it. He knew that was what they were hoping to catch.

Papa stood with his hands behind his back and Josef couldn’t help eyeing the gun holstered at his side. A P08 Luger. Both men had one, and Josef wished like anything that he could have one too.

“Well?” Papa asked, drawing his attention from the gun. “Are you coming?”

Josef shot to his feet. “Yes, Papa!” He descended the steps and started to follow the men, then paused for a moment to turn back and look at Mutti and Helmut.

“I have to leave now,” he said in the most serious, grownup voice he could muster. He imagined he was a soldier going off to war and thought he should salute the civilians before he left. He knew two different ways to salute but decided to use the one that didn’t make Mutti look sad.

Mutti waved. “Goodbye, brave soldier. Wave goodbye, Hasi.” Helmut took his fingers out of his mouth and flapped them a few times before pointing at Josef and looking up at Mutti.

“Buh?” he asked.

“Your brother’s going to go with Papa and Uncle Krumens, and then he’s going to come back. Don’t worry.”

“I’ll come back, Helmut,” Josef reassured him.

“I don’t have all day, boy!” Papa barked at him from the edge of the trees. Josef jumped at the sound of his voice and raced across the yard to join him.

“That’s better,” said Papa, turning to lead the way into the forest by way of a barely visible path.

“Let’s go, soldier,” said Uncle Krumens, following behind.

Josef saluted him the other way. “ _Jawohl, Herr Wachtmeister!_ ” His uncle returned his salute and laughed.

“You’re an idiot,” Papa informed him from up ahead. Uncle Krumens seemed to take it in stride and the three of them continued onward, Josef bringing up the rear, and soon the dense forest had enveloped them.

The farther they walked, the more Josef was amazed. Being inside the forest, really inside, was so much different than the short, safe distances he had travelled before. He had quickly lost sight of the compound and nothing could be heard but the sounds of insects and animals. He wondered just how many living things filled the trees and undergrowth around him. Maybe a billion. Maybe more than that.

Josef hoped that today was the beginning of a new stage of his life, when he could begin following in his father’s footsteps. He both admired and feared Papa. He was always busy at work in The Lab, carrying out mysterious research. Josef usually saw him at breakfast and again at lunch, but he returned to work after that and was gone for the rest of the day. He was never there to say good night. He hardly ever took a day off. When he did, Josef was careful to keep his distance and not to pepper him with the endless questions he was dying to ask. But when Papa did call him to his side, he hung on every word. Papa was a genius, and Josef wanted to be just like him.

He was doing well so far. Learning came easily to him; he had started to read when he was four, he could speak Spanish better than the grownups, and he had recently mastered his multiplication tables up to twelve. He had Papa’s intense gaze and his straight black hair, with the same forelock that just wouldn’t stay in place. Helmut took after Mutti’s family, with fair hair and skin that burned easily. But Josef had only ever seen photos of his grandparents and Uncle Rudi, while he could see his father and the similarities between them in person. It made him feel proud. If he could make his father proud too, that would be even better.

After a time, they came upon the first trap, the location of which was indicated by a painted white X on a rubber tree beside the path. It was already peeling away from the constant humidity. The trap itself lay several feet beyond and the men ventured carefully into the undergrowth to inspect it. Josef was told to stay put and wait.

“Shit,” he heard Papa say. They returned to the path empty handed and moved on to the next location.

“Shit!” Papa said again, this time more annoyed. “Set it back up.” Something had triggered the second trap, but it had closed on nothing.

Uncle Krumens called Josef over to watch and he picked his way carefully through the undergrowth. He was surprised at what he saw. He had imagined something like a small wire cage with a trap door; instead, he was looking at a rather vicious-looking thing: a hinged metal jaw with a spring mechanism, attached to a stake by a short length of chain.

“Maybe something fell out of a tree and set it off,” mused Uncle Krumens, wrenching the trap open with some effort. He stood up and backed away a little once it was set. “See the flat piece in the middle? The animal steps on it and the jaws close around its legs.”

Josef felt uneasy. It seemed like such a cruel thing to do. He imagined Lili, their elderly dachshund, getting caught in one of these traps. She slept most of the time now, burrowed inside her blanket in Josef and Helmut’s room. But what if she were to wander into the forest one day and catch her tiny leg in those jaws? The thought upset him, and he tried to push it away.

The third trap Papa wanted to check was by the riverbank, and Josef was happy to let the men go first, since they were armed. He was a little worried about getting too close to the water, as he always imagined an anaconda or a caiman could be waiting under the surface for him.

He could just see the opening in the trees ahead when a strange commotion caught everyone’s attention. Something was thrashing around down there on the bank, something big. It had heard them approach and was desperately trying to flee, but it couldn’t. It was caught in the trap.

“Ha! Finally, some luck!” said Papa triumphantly. “Come with me, boy.” Josef hurried to his side, but he felt nervous. The thing was letting out piercing shrieks like a whistle. Whatever was in the trap, it was clearly panicking, and it made Josef feel a little panicked too.

They reached the mud at the river’s edge and the creature was revealed. At first, Josef didn’t quite understand what he was seeing. The upsetting sights and sounds of an animal in distress, combined with the unfamiliar animal itself left him bewildered for a moment. Then he caught sight of its snout and he realized what it was: a tapir. He had seen a picture of one in a book when Mutti had taught him about the different animals in the forest. Like a pig with a short elephant’s trunk. It must have come out of the water yesterday evening to sleep on the safety of the riverbank, away from the jaws of the caimans. Instead, it had been caught by the jaws of the trap. Its front leg was mangled from trying so desperately to escape. Blood mixed with the trampled mud and covered the poor animal’s front and side.

Papa wasn’t happy. “Oh, God damn it! Even a pig would have at least had some use. What the hell am I supposed to do with this thing?”

Uncle Krumens appeared beside them and looked at the tapir. He groaned in annoyance. “I’ll get rid of it, Herr Doktor,” he said, and started to unholster his gun.

“No. Wait a minute,” Papa told him. “Maybe this isn’t such a waste after all.” Josef’s attention was pulled away from the creature as he saw Papa unholster his own gun. What was he going to do? Shoot it himself?

Papa turned and held the gun out to him. “Josef, I want you to kill it.”

Josef took the gun and stared at it as it lay in his hands. He couldn’t believe this was really happening. He had daydreamed about getting to use the Luger for ages. Now, finally, Papa was actually handing it to him and telling him to shoot. But he was asking Josef to kill a real live animal with it. An injured, panicking animal that couldn’t get away. That wasn’t fair. He wanted to make Papa proud of him, but...he didn’t know what to do.

Papa saw him hesitating and he didn’t like it. “Go on, boy. What are you waiting for?” He reached down and positioned the gun in Josef’s hands. “Like this. Aim for the heart. You know where the heart is, don’t you? Pull the hammer back with your thumb, then pull the trigger.”

Josef stood aiming the gun but looking at the tapir. It was going out of its mind with fear now. Its shrieks were getting more and more desperate. He felt terribly sorry for the poor thing. A lump began to form in his throat. He lowered the gun and looked up at his father.

“Papa,” he began. “I can’t...” His eyes felt hot.

Papa looked angry. “What do you mean, ‘you can’t?’ Hurry up and shoot the damned thing.”

“But I can’t...” a tiny gasping sob escaped his throat before he could stop it.

“ _Knock it off!_ ” Papa gave him a hard smack across the back of the head and he let out another sob from the force of it. “Stop snivelling and act like a man, God damn it! I gave you an order and I expect you to obey me!”

Josef fought the tears prickling at the edges of his eyes. His head hurt. His throat was on fire. The tapir’s screaming was unbearable. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to be back at home with Mutti and Helmut. Why was he being forced to do this? He looked up at Uncle Krumens, then back at Papa, but they both just stared back at him with their arms crossed.

“Your mother isn’t here to coddle you, boy,” hissed Papa. “She’s been too lenient with you. It’s making you weak and effeminate. It looks like she needs to be corrected so that she won’t forget that you’re _my_ son.”

A chill ran down Josef’s spine. He wasn’t going to hurt Mutti – was he? He remembered the look on her pretty face as she had asked him earlier to promise that he’d do what Papa told him. He was breaking that promise right now by not killing the tapir. Even worse, he might be putting her in danger by not doing it. He had to protect her – he’d rather die than see Mutti hurt.

Taking a deep breath, Josef turned back toward the tapir. It was exhausted and starting to slow down, writhing on its side as it still tried to keep as far away as possible. He raised the gun and held it in both hands, trying to aim at the animal’s exposed chest. His arms felt shaky.

Papa swore under his breath and got down on one knee behind Josef, roughly grabbing his hands to steady them and keep the Luger trained on the target area. His hands were softer than Mutti’s but they weren’t warm or gentle at all. They felt cold.

He pulled Josef’s thumb back with his own and cocked the hammer. Josef held his breath and steeled himself. Then he squeezed the trigger.

Papa’s hands absorbed most of the recoil, but the sound was deafening. Birds erupted out the trees around them, showering the riverbank with leaves. Josef’s ears were ringing. There was a faint metallic smell in the air, just detectable through the musty odour of the forest and the muddy river.

He stared at the tapir as Papa took the Luger from him and stood up. It was finally silent, twitching weakly as the life drained from the wound in its chest and into the mud. Uncle Krumens approached it and removed the trap from its leg, wiping the blood off on the leaves of a bush before walking a short distance down the bank and setting the trap again.

Josef gathered his courage and carefully walked up to the tapir. Its eyes stared blindly up at him, already dull and lifeless. Its ears were round and soft looking, and it had a short bristly ridge of hair down its back. It looked so innocent and helpless. It hadn’t deserved to die this way.

He reached out and put his hand on the tapir’s side. He had done what Papa told him. He had so wanted to help him. He had so wanted to make him proud. Now he wasn’t sure what he wanted at all.

Slowly, gently, Josef began petting the animal. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. In the distance, he heard Papa calling him back to the path. There were still more traps to check before returning home. He stepped back and looked at the tapir one last time. Then he turned his back and followed his father into the shadows.


End file.
